V3 july2013

Northwest Georgia's Premier Feature Reader / juLY 2013

M AG A Z I N E

Steadiest

CATCH Native Roman, former NCAA long-snapper and

PigStickers Guide Service founder/ captain, Zach Ware,

finds his calling in the plentiful fishing waters off Panama City Beach

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features

18 STILL, WATTERS RUN DEEP

WATTERS & ASSOCIATES LANDSCAPE RENDERS A BACKYARD PATIO/POOL PROJECT WORTHY OF a MIAMI KINGPIN

22 LIFE IMITATES ARF

Concerned souls with the animal rescue foundation HELP TURN THE TIDE AT FLOYD COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL

26 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTARS

the trinity united methodist choir tour MAKES ITs CASE FOR A TONY AWARD IN THE NAME OF SWEET SALVATION

v3magazine JULY2013 oPinions

16 DIAL "C" FOR CREEPY

J. BRYANT STEELE CONNECTS THE DOTS BETWEEN CALLER ID AND THE NSA's INTRUSIVE WIRETAPPING

28 FIVE FOR FAWNING

HOLLY LYNCH REMINDS US OF FIVE POLITE PHRASES TO KEEP US SOCIALLY AFLOAT

38 DroidIan Slip

NEWCOMING COLUMNIST, KENT HOWARD, explains what to do when a robot steals your job

43 STROKE OF GENIUS

harbin clinic NEurologist, dr. brian hard, tells us how to prevent a potentially fatal "brain attack"

cover story

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POSEIDon's

petPIG pig STICKERS

FOUNDER/CAPTAIN AND SELF-CERTIFIED FISH WHISPERER, ZACH WARE, SPEAKS SOFTLY WHILE PUSHING A BIG POLE oFF THE COAST OF PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLA.

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Not being a fan of heat, in particular, the comparatively mild weather we saw in Northwest Georgia this June freed me up to enjoy the outdoors a little more than usual. And thanks to our cover feature on Pig Stickers Guide Service owner Zach Ware (see pg. 30, “Redfish Redemption”), I had the opportunity to spend a little time on the water last month—the Atlantic currents just off Panama City Beach, Fla., more specifically—learning firsthand what it takes to be a successful fishing guide along the Florida Panhandle.

My father and I, along with V3 guerrilla photojournalist and avid outdoor sportsman, Derek Bell, joined Ware in PCB for a few days of super-fun saltwater fishing. It was the first time I had been fishing in nearly two decades, actually, with the bulk of my fishing experience having come as a preadolescent. Nevertheless, flanked by my cohorts and our wizard of a guide, I dusted off my severely diminished line-casting skills and relished two days on the water that I’ll never forget. And it wasn’t just the bounty of fish that thrilled me; it was the wild beauty of the all-but-forgotten Gulf surrounding us at every turn.

When you mix good company with the serenity of being on the open water, it’s a pretty tough scenario to top. Yet, the trip also offered up an unforeseen, secondary MANAGING PARTNER+ opportunity that we hadn’t anticipated: a chance to revisit HEAD OF ADVERTISING

Ian Griffin

publisher's note

the notion of what it means to be in Panama City Beach. As for my spry, septuagenerian father, he spent his first summer out of high school on the hot sands here, working as a parttime lifeguard while also serving as deckhand on a party boat that escorted large groups out to deep-sea fish.

As for me, if I’m being honest, most of the memories I might’ve had from the three consecutive years of high-school spring break I spent there are drowned at the bottom of countless PBR cans, and that’s exactly where they should stay.

CREATIVE PARTNER+HEAD However, after two days of fishing, I realized DESIGNER+EDITOR-IN-CHIEF there was a lot more to the old “party beach” than meets the eye. I have never been a fan of “high-rise beaches” or the distractions that come with them, but this trip’s focus was trained on the water, and I soon came to see Panama City in a totally different light. Once you are adrift on the Gulf, it’s as tranquil and serene as anywhere I can imagine, and the convenience of the hundreds of hotels and condominiums along PCB make it an easily affordable adventure.

Our trip only lasted a few days, but it was such a good time that it inspired my father and I to take my young son on his first-ever fishing expedition the very next weekend.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and make sure to keep an eye out for our Third Annual SEC College Football Preview issue, due out the first week of August.

Neal Howard

IAN GRIFFIN, MANAGING PARTNER

M AG A Z I N E

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF + PRODUCTION MANAGER + ART&DESIGN Neal Howard WRITERS J. Bryant Steele, Luke Chaffin, Holly Lynch, Lillian Shaw, Ray Marvin, Robb Raymond III, Kent Howard, Ian Griffin, Neal Howard PHOTOGRAPHY Derek Bell, MFA 706.936.0407 CHIEF OF ADVERTISING + OFFICE MANAGER/SALES DIRECTOR Ian Griffin AD SALES + CLIENT RELATIONS Shadae Yancey-Warren, Chris Forino AD DESIGN + CREATIVE ENGINEERING Ellie Borromeo PUBLISHER V3 Publications, LLC CONTACT One West Fourth Avenue Rome, Ga. 30161 Office phone_706.235.0748 Email_v3publicatons@ gmail.com

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a

A few decades ago, Bell Labs invented a technology called “automatic number identification”, or ANI, a very early precursor to caller ID. The idea was that large businesses—ANI being too expensive for anyone else to afford—could appear more “personal” with their customers.

If a customer named, say, John Smith, called the customer service line of a business with which he had an account, the ANI system would recognize his phone number, flash a bit of relevant information across a primitive screen, and the operator would cheerily say something like, “Good morning, Mr. Smith, how may I help you today?”

A major credit-card company was the first to try out ANI, but Mr. Smith and other customers, instead of feeling like they were having a friendly living-room chat, were freaked out. What kind of Orwellian world was this, they wondered, in which a stranger sitting by a phone in some office located Lord knows where, knows my name?

Suffice to say that ANI had a short lifespan, but I recalled it just a few days ago when I needed a replacement title for a vehicle I wanted to sell. The clerk at the Floyd County Courthouse asked for the last five digits of the vehicle identification number, then poof, every other bit of pertinent information instantly appeared on her computer screen.

Make and model, name and address, number of cylinders, tag number, county of registration, even the color. (I could have suggested they insert the word “faded” before green, but why taunt a system that seems to be working so efficiently?)

The point is that in a relatively short time, people have come a long way in accepting the fact that lots of machines capable of “talking”

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to one another have stored vast amounts of information about us. We appreciate efficiency in the handling of transactions. We don’t worry that our neighbor, under cover of darkness, dressed in black and using a flashlight, is going to look at our car’s VIN, then go over to the courthouse on pretense of needing a title just because he’s curious how many cylinders the vehicle has.

Also, with all the numbers of friends and colleagues that I’ve taken the time to store on my smartphone, I’m far more likely to answer with, “Hello, Scott,” (or Susan, et al) than simply, “Hello.” But this comfort zone is being put through the discussion grinder yet again, thanks to omni-present drones and carte blanche for eavesdropping.

Is it legal to swab a criminal suspect’s cheek for DNA, just like fingerprinting and mug shots, or does it qualify an illegal search? The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Arizona’s voter ID law is largely illegal, which means the same fate will befall Georgia’s copycat law.

The nation, too, is watching with interest the trial of George Zimmerman in Florida, accused of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. No matter the verdict, the question still needs to be asked: Why does Florida, or any state, need a “stand-your-ground law”?

Self-defense has always been a viable option in a murder trial, and common sense has always been to avoid involving oneself in a situation that could end badly. The standyour-ground laws are just another example of small-minded lawmakers who want to convince you there are boogeymen. But don’t worry, folks, you can be a vigilante.

The gathering of ordinary citizens’ phone records and other invasive measures employed by the federal government deserve

more serious debate, because there are real boogeymen who rejoice in harming America.

All of them can’t be stopped, but some can, so we confront the delicate balance of personal privacy and national security in an age exploding with new technology.

Still, too often we stomach meaningless platitudes about common goals from the same folks who were so easily bamboozled

by Apple CEO, Tim Cook, in recent hearings to discuss the pittance Apple pays in U.S. taxes. It took Frank Morris, a veteran New York Times reporter, to put in perspective what no politician could. “The shameful thing about Apple Inc.’s ability to structure its business to avoid United States taxes is not that it did it,” Morris wrote. “In fact, as Apple executives tried to point out at the Senate hearing at which their tax strategies were detailed, they could have paid much less in American taxes than they did.”

The real shame is that Apple and other large American corporations lobby extra hard to get what they want. Apple broke no laws, but when businesses are calling the shots, there is a blanket, undeniably detrimental effect on the economy and on human welfare. Cook’s annual salary is around $400 million, which equals the combined salaries of Apple’s 81,000 Chinese factory workers.

Steele's Biz Bits

i

In more hopeful business news, builder confidence is at its highest level in years. New homes are going up, as well as prices, and the housing-slump component of the Great Recession appears to be receding. Let us just hope that we learned something and don’t return to all the easy mortgages, et

Cents& Sensibility . withJ Bryant Steele

cetera, that incited this recession way back in 2007.

By contrast, buying food will likely never be the same. While I still prefer the aisles of a grocery store, big-box stores like Walmart and Target long ago made the traditional trip to the grocery store just another option, as smaller retailers (such as the variety of dollar-branded chains) and convenience stores are adding more and more supermarket items to their shelves.

Now, Amazon.com says, it will even begin selling groceries online, though only in Los Angeles and Seattle to start.

Finally, this: Business Insider, a popular news and technology website, just gave a tip of the hat to an advertising campaign first launched 20 years ago. The ad featured Tom Selleck of Magnum, P.I. fame, and was called “You Will.� It featured a glimpse of all the things you’d be able to do with a telephone some years into the future, and it led to a pretty entertaining series of ad spots.

There were a few miscalculations made, however, such as a busy mother seen in a

From the creepy vibe first disseminated by ANI, to the recent, not-so-surprising revelation that the NSA has spent years collecting communications-based "metadata" on every citizen capable of using a phone or the internet, it looks as if there's only one man to whom we can turn for an accurate projection on our invasive-technology future: Tom Selleck

I Just Called to Say I Dub You phone booth, sharing a video link with her baby on the other end of the line. Ha, I dare you to try and find a phone booth in 2013 America.

Also, no smartphones were featured, no fingers moving across a touch-controlled screen, no apps, but still a better vision than

most would have projected 20 years ago.

Besides, how could we have asked poor Tom Selleck to accurately predict the future at a time when so much weight was already on his mind? For Petesake, the man was single-handedly fielding every major crime on Oahu. VVV

J. Bryant Steele is an award-winning journalist and

feature writer currently based in Rome. His work has also appeared in several literary journals, and will be included in the Lavender Mountain Anthology due out this fall. vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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scape invaders TEX TNEALHOW ARD&RAYMARVINPHOTOSDEREKBELL

w

“We focus on the complete package by providing our clients with a one-stop-shop for all their outdoorliving needs,” says Brad Gilbert, landscape architect for WATTERS & ASSOCIATES LANDSCAPE in Rome. “We’ve been focusing on the complete outdoor-living space for a while; not just planting plants or doing an irrigation system for you, but really trying to get it all together into a complete package that includes grading, drainage, hardscapes, swimming pools, patios, kitchens, lighting, furniture and irrigation.”

The devil—if we mean devilishly clever—is in the details, as displayed by these entrancing, sun-soaked photos from Derek Bell of a recent Watters & Associates project, which translates so elegantly in print that its owners requested their names be excised from this feature.

C O N T I N U E D O N P G . 2 0 18

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Why, you ask? Well, it seems they didn’t want to come off as braggarts.

And really, can you blame them? After all, minus the caged tiger and the heavily armed guerrilla security, the job Watters & Associates have pulled off in this space expands even further its Tony Montanaesque, South-Florida luxury, blood orange & rich-teal appeal. It’s so gorgeously executed, who’s to say we wouldn’t secretly regard them as pompous for publicizing it?

Granted, Watters’ roots are in making its Northwest Georgia clients’ yards and patioscapes stand out among their neighbors, but the integration of its Outdoor Living Studio location, 134 Silver Avenue in Rome, has quickly made the subtle-tofull-scale backyard makeover a significant contributor to its revenue stream. And for good reason. Just drink in these photos for a moment to unearth it.

To help out, we will tell you that the home’s anonymous owners had it built with a very specific spot in mind for the 20

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pool area. They then consulted with Watters & Associates in a meeting that lasted over three hours, say its attendees, and explored all available design schemes.

Reaching consensus, the group decided to set in stone the spot Mr. and Mrs. X had eyeballed in their own survey, but chose, upon the Watters team’s veteran advice, to rotate the direction it would face to better maximize its sun exposure and poolside panoramic view. This shifted, patio-pool orientation would call for the construction of a four-foot retaining wall—ironically the most transformative, yet unforeseen, creative opportunity the project would produce. “…This gave us the flexibility to add some cool water features,” says Gilbert, “wall features that [cascade spouts of water] into the swimming pool. So, something that ended up as a necessity through the design process turned into an aesthetic-positive feature.”

The water features referenced by Watters (see close-up, pg. 21, bottom left) run on

their own automated pump system. It is remote operated, thus whoever is controlling it can lounge on the “upper deck” and manage its functions at his or her leisure.

The swimming pool and pool deck each feature a travertine coat, which remains cool in the summer beneath the pitter-patter of wet toes, as opposed to untreated stone or concrete. Watters notes that it holds up extremely well in the Southeast’s notorious climate: highly durable and aesthetically pleasing. Other top-tier materials include Pebble Tech, an interior plaster finish that improves poolbottom foot traction and give its rich blue hue a “lighter-to-darker”, fade-in look moving shallow end to deep. Tracing the pool’s edge, intricate detailing work protrudes Turkish-imported stone at fourfoot intervals.

In the yard space surrounding the patio-pool concept, Watters & Associates installed an irrigation system, low-voltage

“Our design team is composed of five designers, and we work in groups of two on each project so we have more than just one set of eyes on it—and more than just one set of ideas.

This also means that you are dealing with a professionally trained staff.” landscape lighting, outdoor furniture, fauna and foliage. “Different hardscape materials don’t do well in our type of climate,” adds Gilbert, “but then there are also certain plants we work with, specifically, that do flourish well in our region.”

The relationship Watters & Associates has with this outdoor living space project in Rome―or any project they take on, for that matter―can be outlined in three distinct, important phases: design, production and maintenance.

While the design phase of any new outdoor- living area is approximated at 7-12 days, the production department, after ordering and securing materials, can last anywhere from two days to two months. Bringing up the rear, the third and final maintenance phase solidifies the trust between client and landscaper, and can continue as long as the client wishes.

“We want the client to have a first-class experience,” says Gilbert. “Our design team is composed of five designers, and we work in groups of two on each project so we have more than just one set of eyes on it―and more than just one set of ideas.

This also means that you are dealing with a professionally trained staff.”

Now operating with 60 employees and 18 works crews, all of whom function as irreplaceable cogs in the wheel of Watters & Associates outdoor living and landscape machine, it’s no wonder they’re currently celebrating 20 years of out-conceiving the competition. VVV

To find out more, visit Watters & Associates Landscape on the web at Watterslandscape.com, or in person at their main office, 111 South Broad Street, Rome; Outdoor Living Studio at 134 Silver Avenue vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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G

Greta Willoughby’s day-job as a licensed counselor means she spends most of her working hours helping people, and she supposes it has something to do with why her hobby is helping animals. Willoughby is a founding member and co-president of the Animal Rescue Foundation—abbreviated ARF, appropriately—which is a local nonprofit organization that works to ease the suffering of Northwest Georgia’s homeless, abandoned and neglected animals.

The only problem is, the small but fiercely dedicated group of ARF volunteers is vastly outnumbered by the hundreds of animals, mostly cats and dogs, that are taken to Floyd County Animal Control (FCAC) each month. In May alone, the staff took in 278 stray dogs; in June, over 50 cats in a single day. Many of these animals are brought to animal control sick or injured, neglected or abused. The current shelter facility on Mathis Road has limited space for new intakes, and even less funding than in a healthy economy, which means more sick dogs and cats, more disease and contamination, less adoptions, more euthanizations. The work performed at animal control is more than heart-wrenching; it’s insurmountable.

Thankfully, like Lassie personified, ARF has come to the rescue of this grossly overbooked and underfunded shelter, looking to provide the medical care and rescue efforts needed to help save the lives of helpless creatures every day. “This box represents the things we didn’t have before ARF,” says FCAC director Jason Broome, holding a cardboard container (see pg. 24)

IN THE LAST YEAR ALONE, GRETA WILLOUGHBY AND HER FELLOW BAND OF INDEFATIGABLE ANIMAL LOVERS, A.K.A. THE ANIMAL

RESCUE FOUNDATION (ARF) , HAVE HELPED REDUCE THE ONCE-DISMAL EUTHANASIA RATES AT FLOYD COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL A CLEAN 47 PERCENT. CALL IT QUALITY CONTROL FOR THE NEW MILLINNEUM

EAT YOUR

HEART OUT,

SARAH McLACHLAN ARF CO-PRESIDENT, SUE LEE, WITH BOARD MEMBERS KEN KIZZIAH AND MARGARET WIMBERLY, AND FELLOW CO-PRESIDENT, GRETA WILLOUGHBY

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West Rome Animal Clinic to spay, neuter, treat disease, rehabilitate injuries, perform routine vaccinations, and make certain the animals become fully adoptable.

Already, ARF’s impact has been monumental. “Our numbers have flip-flopped,” says Broome. “This year, our euthanasia rate [of both cats and dogs] is 18 percent.

Last year, it was 65 percent.”

The effects of ARF’s efforts can be seen in more than just the numbers. Take, for example, the young Chihuahua recently struck by a car and brought to the animal shelter by a good Samaritan. Two years ago, FCAC would have had no choice but to put the dog down. “I mean, a Chihuahua hit by a car is pretty bad,” Willoughby says. Fortuitously, thanks to ARF, the poor little pup instead spent the next two weeks at a local vet, where it received treatment and rehab for its tiny broken legs. “Finally

TEXTLILLIAN SHAW DEREK BELLPHOTOS filled with a slew of prescription antibiotics and crucial, preventative medications.

But that’s only a small part of what ARF does for Rome’s four-legged (and occasionally feathered) community. “The main thing we do is pay vet bills for the Floyd County Animal Control,” Willoughby explains. Over the years, Willoughby and her fellow animal lovers have developed relationships with all of the veterinary practices located in Greater Rome and Floyd County, often bringing in strays and paying the bills out of their own pockets. Now in their second year of operating under the ARF banner, the group continues to partner with veterinarians like Dr. Dan Pate of the vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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it could stand, finally it could use the bathroom. We’ve actually just had that one adopted.”

The reach of ARF already extends beyond Floyd County, even beyond Georgia.

Whenever possible, ARF partners with animal-rescue organizations across the country to re-assimilate local pets from small, crowded shelters where their fates are uncertain. Rome City Commissioner and ARF co-president, Sue Lee, remembers the time animal control found itself with three neglected Saint Bernards in one week.

Adopting those dogs locally would have been difficult, but ARF was able to coordinate a relocation with the Saint Bernard Rescue Foundation of Texas, which flew

PHOTO LEFT: (LEFT TO RIGHT) ARF RESCUE COORDINATOR, DAYNA CRUMLEY, AND FOSTER COORDINATOR, TRACI BALL. DOWN LEFT: FCAC DIRECTOR, JASON BROOME, AND HIS DEDICATED CREW

"I FEEL LIKE THE CHARACTER OF A COMMUNITY IS JUDGED...BY THE WAY WE TREAT NOT ONLY OUR HUMANS IN NEED, BUT ALSO OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS IN NEED. YOU'RE ONLY AS

STRONG AS YOUR WEAKEST LINK, AND WE HAVE A BROKEN LINK AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER."

two of its representatives to Georgia to collect the animals. Lee recalls meeting them at the West Rome Animal Clinic: “These two women rented a van in Atlanta, drove up here, put three huge Saint Bernards in the back of that van, and drove back to Texas.” A few weeks later, Lee received an email with photos of three big, beautiful, healthy-looking dogs—a far cry from the pitifully skinny, malnourished strays she watched leave Floyd County.

ARF sees a lot of happy endings, which 24

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Coosa Valley Home Health Care, an Amedisys company, is in the business of helping our patients maintain and improve their quality of life-at home. Home is the place where family, friends and familiar surroundings make patients feel most comfortable - and recover faster.

With more than two decades of experience in the health care industry, we understand the importance of delivering high-quality services to patients in their homes. Choose Coosa Valley for all your home care needs. helps keep the group encouraged as they continue to deal each day with the much harsher realities of animal neglect and abuse here in Northwest Georgia. The ARF team has helped animal control care for pets that are picked up with bullet wounds, collars grown into the skin of their necks, cats with anemia being eaten alive by fleas and ticks. “We had a puppy picked up last week from the river bank—don’t think he was even six weeks old—and he had fishhooks in his feet,” says Willoughby.

Such cases highlight FCAC’s everresounding need for better in-house vet care, greater public education and awareness, and better-equipped facilities. But until those needs are met, ARF continues to do all that it can to make animal control a place of transition and limbo, as opposed to a death row of mistreated animals where there’s always the slim chance of pardon until a regretful FCAC worker leads you outside to the miniaturized gas chamber and seals the lid. But providing that sort of reformative care is costly, and ARF operates exclusively on public donations. “Our hurdles are always money,” Willoughby sighs. “It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed.

You’ve got a small group of people that are, to me, basically carrying something vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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DR. SUSAN FITZPATRICK

WEST ROME ANIMAL CLINIC

shelter is FCAC’s biggest roadblock to doing it’s job effectively and efficiently.

A newly built facility would be bigger, more sanitary, and more welcoming to potential adopters. Even a few simple updates, such as a more effective ventilation system, would help curtail the spread of disease inside the shelter itself, as well as saving money down the line with regard to vet bills and boosting all resident animals’ chances of adoption.

Much of this evolving story is still up in the air, but clearly, ARF has the capacity to build something out of nothing. When Willoughby and company were just getting to their feet, local attorney Greg Price worked pro bono by donating his services to ARF’s incorporation. Rome Mayor Evie McNiece donated her time and accounting skills, seeing to it that ARF was granted nonprofit status. The auto technicians at The Garage in Rome donate with free oil changes for ARF’s unmistakable, neon paw-printed transport van. Each day, ARF members foster, transport, and care for animals without recompense, and the numbers (in addition to the heartwarming stories of rescue and redemption) born out by their efforts have proven atypically impactful. With just one part-time clerical employee, nearly all ARF donations go directly toward the animals of Rome and Floyd County.

Willoughby began ARF as a lone, concerned citizen, but the foundation has grown into something even broader-reaching than she could have imagined. “It’s not something just one person could have done,” she says. “If we didn’t have the group we have, it would not work. It’s just amazing.” VVV

To donate or volunteer, please visit ARF on the web @ ARFromefloyd.com that the county should be paying for.”

At deadline, ARF was actively campaigning the Floyd County SPLOST committee to include a new animal shelter on the final list of public projects to receive funding from the special-purpose tax. If everything goes as Willoughby and Lee hope, Rome citizens will vote in November to fund a brand new Floyd County Animal Control facility. After all, the current state of overcrowding and antiquation witnessed at shelter is one of the foremost reasons Willoughby founded ARF. Commissioner Lee weighs in, “I feel like the character of a community is judged… by the way we treat not only our humans in need, but also our animal friends in need.

You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and we have a broken link at the animal shelter.” Floyd County’s badly outdated 26

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Trends& Traditions with Holly Lynch

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I’ve recently discovered a trio and a duet that, in order to regain popularity, need some dusting off.

No, I’m not talking about Peter, Paul & Mary and Milli Vanilli.

Instead; I’m referring to a handful of lovely phrases in our language that belong together, but, nowadays, are rarely used in combination with one another.

Several weeks ago, during my 3-yearold Sunday-school class, I was offering the tiny little churchgoers their mid-morning snack. One of the children asked me for more animal cookies, which I was happy to oblige. It occurred to me, however, that a teachable moment was presenting itself.

“What do you say?” I asked the youngster, who responded, correctly, with a very singsongy-sounding, “Pleeeeease?”

I smiled, beaming with pride that his parents raised him to have good manners, 28

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Magic Phrases

If you plunder the English lexicon for historical meaning—particularly with respect to the five major phrases of common courtesy in America— it's doubtful to think the Anglo ancestors who evolved it would be telling us "thank you" but also because I had remembered to reinforce them. Then I thought about my own behavior, and was suddenly ashamed.

I know for certain that on an event day, in my life as a professional planner, I can be a bit intense—quite possibly the understatement of the year—with my coworkers. There’s a lot in my head on those days, and I’m often balancing the competing needs of multiple entities. So, when I ask my staff to do/get/ find/fix something, I’m not often as polite as I was raised to be. I’ve even told new hires,

as a word of warning, that I often forget to say please, but I will always say thank you.

Putting things in perspective, I’m glad that I remember one end of the bargain, yet I seem to have forgotten the original magic word.

I’ve been missing the peas to the carrots, the yin to the yang.

Please is such a great word, and it should be used more often. Just saying it downgrades a demand to a condescensionfree request. In Sunday school, it alters my role from short-order chef to gracious, adult

volunteer. How amazing the power of that one little word. Saying please expresses respect to the person with whom you are speaking. To please means, literally, to give pleasure. How lovely is that?

“Thank you” is please’s equally beautiful counterpart. I find that thanking people comes more naturally to me than saying please. But giving it a little more dissective thought, it’s clear that the two should go hand in hand. The phrase “thank you” is short, but profound. It’s a way of personally and specifically expressing gratitude to a person.

Thank you is so much nicer than “thanks”, wouldn’t you agree? It takes a split second longer to say, type or write, but it’s so much more personal. By involving the person who pleased you in your gratitude, you’ve made a connection to them and have granted them the respect his or her action deserves.

The third component to the please-andthank-you equation is the seemingly lost art of “you’re welcome.” Please note the spelling in that construction, as well. It’s a contraction for “you are”, as in you are welcome. “Your welcome” is wrong in so many ways. For one, it’s not even a sentence really, because you can’t own a welcome, can you? But I digress.

Now, how many times have you heard “no problem” or “no big deal” in response to your heartfelt “thank you”? I’m guilty of saying “no worries”, and I wonder, where on Earth did that come from?

If we’re being entirely honest, performing whatever task for which we have just been thanked likely was something of a problem, probably is a big deal, and did cause us some worry. So, let the person know you acknowledge and appreciate their gratitude, and that they were worthy of your time and talents.

Think about it: If they weren’t welcome to the time you spent or whatever gift you gave, why did you give it? It’s time to bring back “you’re welcome” and really round out our dialogue of requests and gratitude.

There’s a balance in delivering the three phrases please, thank you, and you’re welcome as a trio.

The other duet of phrases that needs a swift resurrection is “hello” and “goodbye”.

With the advent of caller ID and text messaging (for more on this subject, see pg. 16, “I Just Called to Say I Dub You”), the proper manner with which you should answer a telephone call or greet a visitor has become a lost art.

I realized this in a very embarrassing way quite recently. I have the work telephone number of a very good friend saved in my cell phone directory under her name. She works at my financial institution, as well, so recently when her name appeared on my caller ID, I answered in a very musical sounding, sort of British royal accent, as in, “Helluuuuuu!” My friend would’ve thought it cute, but unfortunately, the caller on the other end was an HR professional who had dialed me to solicit a reference for a former student-worker. I later realized—far too late—that in small print under my friend’s name on the caller ID screen, it read “work”.

Uh oh. My credit union was calling me with regard to a professional matter, and I sounded like a hillbilly Queen Elizabeth impersonator. Thankfully, the HR guy was understanding, and he even made me feel better by laughing about it. The lesson to this story, though: Say hello when you answer the phone―in your natural voice.

And don’t try to identify the caller on the other end right away, despite the tip from caller ID.

I’m still startled when I call someone and they answer with, “Hey, Holly, what’s up?”

I think to myself, How do they know it’s me?

(Forgive me, I’m of the generation who still remembers a time before caller ID.) The word hello, as a part of speech, is typically an interjection (it can also be a noun), which is a type of word that literally is “interjected” (placed) between other things.

The word, if we adhere to its categorical definition, demands pause. Hence, when you say hello to someone, you should pause, stop whatever it is you’re doing, and allow the other person to begin speaking.

“Goodbye”, hello’s lovely counterpart, is meant to be a sincere farewell when parting company, and is literally derived from “God be with you.” Without getting into a debate as to the religious undertones here, its common usage today means, “when you leave me, I hope you are well.” To hear it in other languages, goodbye’s translation is “good travels” or “go in peace.”

How wonderful that we have phrases in our language to express care to one another without having to get all mushy and philosophical. Each and every one of the phrases we have discussed is laced with care and compassion.

Looking at their usage with regard to the bigger picture, I suppose that the moral of this column is to realize that our language has deeper meaning and greater power than we realize. These five phrases convey respect, gratitude and compassion, and thats precisely what I feel toward all of you. So, thank you for reading, everyone. Goodbye.

VVV

Holly Lynch

is owner/head planner for The Season Special Events Planning @ 250 Broad Street in Rome

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f ed ish RRedemption Text Ian Griffin

Photos Derek Bell

Pig Stickers Guide Service founder/captain, Zach Ware, has been in close touch with Rome native and

Mother Nature since his boyhood days rambling the backwoods of Rome-Floyd County. Now, he's taking his sixth sense to the warm Atlantic waters off Panama City Beach, Fla., rolling the dice on a fishing-guide service that all but guarantees its clients a healthy day's catch 30

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being the other way around. I really had no intention of being a guide, but when I got out West, I was fishing every chance I got and couldn’t think of a better way to spend more time on the water...”

After a stint guiding tourists along the Colorado River, Ware set his sights a little closer to home, and soon found the perfect location―better yet, opportunity ―in Panama City Beach, Fla. He had several friends already living in the area, and a life-long history of fishing the Florida panhandle had given him a good grasp on the temperament of the Atlantic waters that roll from Destin all the way to Carrabelle. Panama City not only lies right in the middle of the aforementioned stretch of panhandle, but is also much more populated than its neighbors to the east. This allows for easy out-of-towner

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SPECKLED

TROUT

It’s easy to tell when a person truly loves what they do. It starts with a genuine enthusiasm, and shines through in the way they speak about their particular craft. If those two attributes are combined with a tireless work ethic, you have the perfect storm. And in the world of fishing, Zach Ware of Pig Stickers Guide Service in Panama City Beach, Fla. certainly meets the above criteria.

Son of Redmond Regional Hospital cardiologist Michael Ware, 26-year-old Zach grew up an avid hunter and fisherman right here in Rome. He calls his hometown 32

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the perfect place to be an outdoorsman.

He also excelled on the football field as a Darlington School student-athlete, and went on to play long-snapper for Georgia Tech from 2006-09 under head coaches Chan Gailey and Paul Johnson.

Later, after earning his degree from what is considered one of the nation’s most rigorous academic institutions, Ware moved west to Colorado, where his career as a guide would soon begin. “Growing up, I hunted and fished whenever I could,” Zach says. “Eventually, I started to enjoy fishing even more than my dad. And before long, I was taking him fishing instead of it

BLACKTIP

SHARK

travel accommodations, and it is from this convenience, in part, that Pig Stickers Guide Service was born.

Armed with his official captain’s license and, less prominently, the other assorted credentials needed to guide in this particular region of the Sunshine State, Ware’s current vessel is outfitted to accommodate three anglers and himself, while also providing bait and tackle, client fishing licenses, bottled water, ice, sunscreen and bug protection. All of this will cost you a very reasonable $300 for a four-hour trip; $50 per additional hour. Ware highly recommends that his anglers bring a hat, rain jacket and polarized sunglasses, as well as any food and beverages (other than water) you may want while out on the water. “I try to have all the necessities covered,” he says. “I want to make sure my

clients can focus on fishing, since that’s what they’re paying to do.”

Two years into his work as a guide in Panama City, Ware stays heavily booked.

Once you’ve witnessed his expertise on the water, it’s easy to see why. He knows what’s biting that day and always seems to have it tugging at your line.

On our first outing for V3 this May, Zach recommended several of his favorite species for our three-man party to go after.

His specialty, he told us, is the redfish. To catch these clever buggers requires a bit more cunning than simply casting a line and crossing your fingers. “They hide out in the flats,” Ware says. He appears to have acclimated himself quite well to their habits and whereabouts. Using light tackle with artificial lures and flies, he gently pushes the boat along by pole, from

" I really had no intention of being a guide.

But when I got out West, I was fishing every chance I got, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend more time on the water..."

REDFISH

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atop an elevated platform that gives him a bird’s-eye view of the water below. This technique is called sight-fishing, and while the “reds” require a little more work on the front end, the fight to reel one in is well worth the effort.

But while the redfish is certainly a personal Ware favorite, the old saying There are plenty of fish in the sea doesn’t fall on deaf ears at Pig Stickers. Any fish

" For the guys who are really experienced, I can let them be as hands-on as they want, but I have plenty of guys like that who appreciate me tending to the bait and tackle..."

a client wants to go after that his vessel is capable of accommodating, Ware knows the best spots to reel it in. He later elaborates: “A guide can be helpful to experienced fisherman or beginners.

It really all depends on what you are looking to do. For the guys who are really experienced, I can let them be as hands-on as they want, but I have plenty of guys like that who appreciate me tending to the bait

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and tackle, so they can focus 100 percent on catching fish.

“When it comes to beginners, I can run them through the basics of casting and keep things simple in order to help them catch fish. I try to get as much information from my clients as possible before we go out, in order to provide the best experience I can.”

continued on pg. 45 >>>>

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The summer is in full swing, and my wallet is suffering its annual July beat-down at the hands of family vacation, summer camp for the kids, In a time when commitment to individual character must prevail over and gas in the tank for dozens of trips to the Home the pitfalls of long-term, despiriting economic transition, "touching the Depot—where I go for the line" for you loved ones is paramount to excelling in spite of the odds items needed to complete the “Summertime Honey-Do List” compiled 3) If I didn’t have two children, I would be in these turbulent financial times? Stocks, comfortable financially. Yet, they are well bonds, real estate, nothing at all? annually by my beautiful wife of 13 years. worth the cost 1,000 times over.

In the three minutes of free time I have each day, however, I enjoy sitting on my front The worrisome truth is that many of us are 4) I would be better off riding my bike to porch with a glass of sweet tea and reflecting work than driving. The only problem is I preoccupied with the state of the economy live far down a dangerous, rural road, and on life. These few moments of stillness as it relates to our personal/family finances, could easily be killed on a bike if a driver oftentimes produce my best ideas, and for the and as a nation, we are slowly coming to isn’t paying close attention on its blind purposes of this column, a recent, inspiring the realization that no job—except maybe curves. Still debating. new perspective on personal finance came to pope or the don of an organized-crime 5) My family may never dine out again. It mind. family—is recession proof. We’ve seen is just too expensive.

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by robots; tireless droids that never complain of a stomach-ache or campaign for a raise.

Furthermore, those lucky enough to remain employed will now likely be doing the work of 10 human employees. (Otherwise, why not replace your job with C-3PO?) But while the glass still appears halfempty and cracked on our long road to economic recovery, I want to encourage each of you to look at it, instead, as and brimming with potential for selfimprovement. We can start by exploring

Touching the Line with Kent Howard

the title of this very column, “Touching the Line”. As the head men’s varsity basketball coach at Adairsville High School, I emphasize to my players the importance of executing fundamentals on the hardwood—i.e., the little things, such as “touching the line” (meaning the baseline painted at each end of the court) on a gut-sprint. Within our program, we define the “little things” as those that take just a small amount of extra effort to perform, but contribute heavily to our bigger-picture goals on and off the floor. By touching the line on a gut-sprint, an individual player sends a silent message that he is willing to do what it takes to make big things happen for the team as a whole. It is an expression of commitment and an indication of character.

Also, this philosophy helps teammates learn that they can trust one another, as individuals, to put the team first. In life, as well as on the basketball court, there are consequences when a person fails to touch the line for his or her team—something we coaches perceive as living selfishly.

And while these consequences are often relatively minor in scope, they could, potentially, have huge implications with respect to the future success of the team— or, for the purposes of our discussion on personal finances, the family unit. The player who decides that touching the line on a sprint is too much trouble, is the kind of person who would rather cause the entire rest of the team to run an extra gutsprint than simply reach down and touch the baseline. If this deficiency of character and will reveals itself in a critical game situation, it could lead to all-out team destruction later down the road.

At the end of the season, when the stakes

are even higher, teammates want to know who in the locker room is willing to put his team first, and clearly, there is a direct connection between this concept and other assorted areas of our lives—faith, business, family, the way we support our friends when the chips are down. For any team to be successful at a higher level, its members must take pride in being individually responsible for doing his or her part to the best of his or her ability.

For a team to achieve lasting greatness, each member must buy into the idea that properly executing the little things in life plants the seeds for greater achievement.

Starting tomorrow, touch the line for your family members, your friends, your coworkers, and see if the benefits of this minimal, extra effort doesn’t lead to a more productive, more supportive, far more resilient ‘team’ residing in your home.

As recent numbers from the U.S. market clearly show, our nation, still the world’s most powerful economy (despite a looming China), is slowly staggering back to its financial footing. However, the products and services by which we’ll generate new streams of revenue during this little time-slice of the Information Age will have a wildly different makeup than that witnessed in the industrial 20th century.

So, despite my underwhelming, personal bottom line at the moment, in a strangely inverted sort of way, I am rejoicing at

the excitement of what an uncertain, yet wide open, future may hold.

According to a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic survey, the average American spends 16.4 hours per day working and/or sleeping. The other 7.6 are spent eating, drinking, engaging in leisure activities, playing sports, et cetera. When you have no money to spend and, therefore, nowhere to go, those 7.6 hours should be seen as an opportunity to eliminate distraction and, while simultaneously working harder to enrich your family’s financial future, focus on the one thing in our lives that can never be replaced: time with loved ones.

Touch the line for your team in everything that you do. Touch the line for family. Touch the line for every minute of every work shift. The emotional dividends, as well as your odds of financial success in the new American economic century, will pay off in ways you might never have imagined. VVV

Kent Howard is an 11-

year educator and basketball coach.

He currently teaches business and coaches the varsity men's basketball team at Adairsville High School. His column, "Touching the Line", is written with the hope of inspiring adults across NWGA to take a more active, strategic role in shaping our children for success. vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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Imagine a 12-day road trip consisting of 50 to 60 youth-group members running on limited sleep, using church floors as beds and taking threeminute showers at the nearest YMCA, all while traveling in charter buses up and down the East Coast solely to spread the word of God through an original musical. For the kids of the Trinity United Methodist Church (TUMC) Choir Tour, this whirlwind trip is not only a reality, but a life-changing experience that happens annually.

For the past 15 years, Trinity youth pastor Grant Magness has been writing musicals that incorporate cover songs of varying genres. The kids bring in the tunes they like, then, together with Magness, they collaborate to devise clever skits that tie them all into a cohesive show.

Cornerstone Academy is a private, Christian school purposefully located in one of the worst neighborhoods in southwest Philadelphia, the idea being that the children who need a private-school-caliber education most should have some means of access to it. After all, bad situations in the home or on the streets aren’t mitigated by poor-quality public schooling; they’re exacerbated by it. Every year, Cornerstone is a stop on the Choir Tour’s East-Coast run, and every year, the youth-groupers play with the Cornerstone kids during their field day, as well as performing scenes from the year’s musical.

The TUMC Choir Tour members and their younger fans aren’t the only ones affected, either. Adult audience members are, too, Magness explains, and in ways that none of the performers could predict. “We performed at Faith United Methodist Church on the south side of Chicago—that we go to every other year—and did the musical. We go back two years later, and after the musical, a couple walks up…and says, ‘We want you guys to know that we came here two years ago when you did your musical called Heart of the Matter, and we were in the process of getting a divorce. But we heard that song and we heard the message of your musical, and we felt like it was God speaking to us. We went back to counseling and, as a result of that, we are now still together two years later and are happily married.’ ” As it turns out, the marriage was saved specifically by one of Don Henley’s catchier pop choruses: I think it’s about forgiveness — Forgiveness / Even if — Even if / You don’t love me anymore.

These evolutionary experiences come at a price, however, as the process leading up to the TUMC Choir Tour’s 12-day trip requires a fairly serious commitment from its members. For starters, each choir tourist must devote three months of his or her free time, Wednesdays and Sundays, to rehearsing the 8-10 songs decided upon by the group. The week leading up to the start of the tour, affectionately known around TUMC as “Crunch Week”, involves hours per day at the church practicing the numbers and learning the script. Practice and performance comprise a large percentage of the time and prep

"Kids I knew who had no clue what they wanted to do...come back going, That is what I want to do with my life."

Once the material has been trimmed and tailored, the group performs up and down the East Coast, spreading its message of Christian love the first two weeks of every June. Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C.—all the major cities are covered.

Magness says he enjoys taking his youthchoir members far from the safety of smalltown Rome to areas like the Center City District of Philadelphia and the Southwest Side of Chicago, where they have the opportunity to form mutually beneficial relationships with people whose lives seldom mirror their own. Exposing the group to inner-city churches broadens their awareness of the struggles many of these neighborhoods face. “We’ve had kids come back from those experiences really with a sense of calling…” says Magness. “Kids I knew who had no clue what they wanted to do, and then they spend a day volunteering at Cornerstone Christian Academy in Philadelphia with kids from one of the worst zip codes in the country, who are being given a free, private school, Christian education to get out of their environment, and our kids come back going, That is what I want to do with my life.”

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that goes in to making Choir Tour a hit on the road.

“When you go off to college,” explains TUMC youth choir director and former Choir Tour member, Caroline Ennis, “you immediately get into ministry at school. It’s just like my soul was yearning for that piece of that 12 days. It’s not a peace; it’s hectic. But it’s…why I wanted to come back, because I wanted to give them the same opportunity I had.”

Most youth-group members participate in Choir Tour from their seventh-grade year to their senior year of high school, then it’s time for a new group of dedicated kids to take the stage. Contrarily, Ennis has been given the chance to return as an employee of the church, allowing her the same “rejuvenating” experiences, yet from the perspective of an adult.

“I think a lot of things change, but this stays the same,” she says. “And I think that it’s important, because the truth is never going to change … It’s always going to be the same love and same passion for Jesus.”

As for the musical’s construction, there is a large basis in theology that threads all of the cover songs and written sketches together.

During the past five to six musicals, Magness says he has begun to remove himself from the music-selection process and let the youth bring in the songs with the messages they feel best represent them. He and the cast then break down each song’s message

and, from there, decide which songs work well together.

This process has created musicals featuring material from Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, U2, and several other artists you might not expect. “[These artists might] never imagine being together in the same conglomerate, but they are—and it works,” says Magness. “It works because we are all humans, and we all live and experience the human condition in the culture and in the settings that we are in.

Art reflects culture.”

The musical involves very current theology as well, because the basis of the musical are songs that the youth themselves bring in, and that music provides a window into the soul of both the youth and the present-day culture.

This year, as Choir Tour sings “Some Nights” by Fun, they’ll ask their audiences the question, “What do I stand for?” According to Magness, kids are already asking this question when they perform the song in rehearsal, and if he can connect that song to the answers implied by faith, then the musical will not fall prey to becoming a typical church service. Instead, it will echo a message that the members of Choir Tour, and hopefully the showgoers to whom they sing, will now consider every time that song is played.

Magness believes that by doing this, adults can build a bridge of ministry to children, and one that will never crumble. “A huge part of Choir Tour is about building that bridge between the questions and challenges that we normally face and normally we ask—that we are asking as a 2013 culture—and the truths that we certainly feel are implied in the Cross,” he explains. “That [happens] on Choir Tour in a way that you can’t just hold back.”

“People will listen, out of the mouth of a young person, to some truths that are pretty hard hitting and close to home.

Truths that, out of the mouth of a pastor from a pulpit, they wouldn’t put up with for more than a few Sundays.” VVV

trinity united methodist church choir tour , for15 Thanks to the members of the

years now, a summer bus ride between some of the East Coast's most troubled inner-city neighborhoods has been one packed with soulful song, power and purpose

text by tayler critchlow photos by derek bell

southwest side stor y

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Take on Health OUR PHYSICIANS ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS

Signs, symptoms and stroke prevention Dr. Brian Hard, Harbin Clinic Neurologist, received his medical doctorate from the University of South Alabama in Mobile. He completed his residency and internship at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Neurology. His office is located in the Harbin Clinic Specialty Center, 550 Redmond Road in Rome, and his office can be reached by phone at 706.233.8512. For more information about Harbin Clinic Neurosciences, visit harbinclinic.com/neurology.

Q&A with Dr. Hard A stroke, sometimes called a “brain attack,” occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. When a stroke occurs, brain cells in the immediate area begin to die because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need to function.

• What are the causes of a stroke?

The immediate cause is a blockage of blood flow inside the brain. Treatable or reversible risk factors for this include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and carotid artery disease.

• What are the symptoms of a stroke?

The most common, recognizable symptoms are a sudden onset of facial weakness, slurred speech, weakness or numbness of the extremities, inability to walk, or an inability to understand or produce speech.

• What disabilities can result from a stroke?

Patients who have suffered a stroke can experience paralysis, dysphagia (inability to swallow), aphasia (inability to speak), or visual deficits. All of these disabilities can lead to loss of independence.

• What can I do to prevent a stroke?

The best ways to prevent a stroke are to manage the primary risk factors of hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes, using appropriate medications if needed; to stop smoking; and to screen for additional factors relative to carotid stenosis or atrial fibrillation, and treat them if found.

• As a bystander, why is there a need to act fast?

For some patients, acute treatments are available within a limited timeframe (as short as three hours for some patients), but time is critical when giving stroke treatment, so if a friend or loved one appears to exhibit stroke symptoms they should get immediate medical care.

HARBINCLINIC.COM/NEUROLOGY | 706-233-8512 vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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>>>> from 34, “Redfish...”

This attention to detail allows Ware to cater his Pig Stickers services to the experience level each client desires, and it isn’t likely you’ll find a guide who is willing to work harder for a plentiful catch.

In fact, Ware says, nothing frustrates him more than a slow day on the water. “I honestly think it bothers me more than it bothers my clients. I know where the fish are and what conditions are best suited to catching them. I try not to go out if the conditions aren’t right…

“I know I’ve done my job well when we get off the boat and my clients have had a good time. That’s about the highest compliment a guide can be paid.”

With fair rates and the capacity to cater to anglers of all stripes and skill level, Zach Ware and Pig Stickers Guide Service is a perfect choice for anyone looking to fish the Florida Panhandle, as well as a chance to lend your business support to a fellow Roman entrepreneur. All you have to do is book your transportation and a hotel room.

Ware will handle the rest.

“There isn’t a much better way to spend a day, in my opinion,” he smiles. “That’s why I do what I do.” VVV Contact Pig Stickers Guide Service and Zach Ware by phone @ 850.774.5790; on the web @ panamacitypigstickers.com or facebook.com/pigstickersguideservice; email @ info@panamacitypigstickers.com vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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If interested please visit our salon for an application

Katherine Birkbeck Photography

FHF Hair Design - 305 Main St Cedartown, GA - 678.901.0643 - www.fhfdesign.com

“The wedding of our dreams was brought to life by

Holly and her team!

Organized. Thoughtful. Fun. We cannot say enough wonderful things about The Season!�

-Anna Sargent Miller

Holly Lynch 706-767-0606 www.theseasonevents.com 46

vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

vini vidi vici / v3 magazine

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